Beyond Tampa Bay

Americans borrowed less for an 11th consecutive month in December, paying off credit cards while increasing borrowing for cars and other products. The Federal Reserve said Friday that total borrowing dropped by $1.8 billion — far less than the revised $10.6 billion for November. It also was well below the $9 billion analysts had expected. Borrowing on credit cards fell by $8.5 billion, while other types of loans increased by $6.8 billion.

Weight Watchers International said Friday that rival Jenny Craig has agreed to end an ad campaign. Actor Valerie Bertinelli, tells viewers that a "major clinical trial" found dieters using the Jenny Craig approach lost twice as many pounds as those using the nation's largest weight loss program. The problem was no such study existed, Weight Watchers said in a lawsuit.

Sorry, al-Qaida. Any plans you may have had to use snow globes to blow up a plane or poison its passengers are ruined. The U.S. Transportation Security Administration says the seemingly innocuous items could be turned into a weapon by replacing the benign liquid inside with a dangerous substance. So these sweet, age-old souvenirs now are banned from your carry-on baggage. They can, however, travel in your checked bags.

Homebuyers spurred by low interest rates and government incentives last summer helped lift Beazer Homes USA Inc.'s sales in the last three months of 2009. But the Atlanta builder, which builds homes throughout the bay area, only turned a profit because of a hefty tax gain. Management said Friday it expects to reel in more home shoppers this year, but stopped short of forecasting a profitable year. "We want to see how the market comes out," said Ian McCarthy, Beazer's chief executive.

Quote:

"It's a very fragile investor psychology today. It doesn't take much to send them running for the hills."

Rob Lutts, president and chief investment office at Cabot Money Management in Salem, Mass.

Big number:

$5.1B

Amount industrial gas supplier Air Products and Chemicals Inc. made in an unsolicited cash bid for smaller rival Airgas Inc.

Bottom line:

- Attorneys for retired Visteon workers are appealing a bankruptcy judge's order allowing the auto parts supplier, a former subsidiary of Ford Motor Co., to terminate their health and life insurance benefits.

- Aetna Inc. said its fourth-quarter profit fell 15 percent, to $165.9 million, as it continued to struggle with rising medical costs.

- Tyson Foods Inc. returned to a profit in its fiscal first quarter, earning $160 million, or 42 cents per share, as conditions in the meat industry eased.